It doesn't do any harm when the Man U contributor makes an idiot of himself either. Claiming a City classic as an original lol.

Click to expand...

You're welcome, decent background listening. As for the Boyle contribution, I'm not even sure it's a City original, they've always called Law the king and may have sung it before us, maybe someone a bit older than me (57) can confirm, either way he didn't pen it as he claimed.

I learnt a couple of things but it's true what one contributor said, the best ones are spontaneous and disappear as fast as they arrived.

You're welcome, decent background listening. As for the Boyle contribution, I'm not even sure it's a City original, they've always called Law the king and may have sung it before us, maybe someone a bit older than me (57) can confirm, either way he didn't pen it as he claimed.

I learnt a couple of things but it's true what one contributor said, the best ones are spontaneous and disappear as fast as they arrived.

Click to expand...

The song's source, "Lily The Pink", was released by The Scaffold in 1968, when both The King and the Lawman were at the height of their powers, so City supporters and rags probably started singing it around the same time and neither copying the other.

You're welcome, decent background listening. As for the Boyle contribution, I'm not even sure it's a City original, they've always called Law the king and may have sung it before us, maybe someone a bit older than me (57) can confirm, either way he didn't pen it as he claimed.

I learnt a couple of things but it's true what one contributor said, the best ones are spontaneous and disappear as fast as they arrived.

Click to expand...

True but it's getting harder to get new songs going (never mind spontaneous ones). The Sane goes down the wing is a belter but we've struggled to get it going in the ground.

My favourite is the tune of the 1958 Film 'The Vikings' that evolved into "The Best Team In The Land In All The World" chant. Shame we don't do the"Da Daa - Da" introduction any more. It could go on for 5 minutes before changing to "City, Man City, The Best Team in the Land In all the World". It really was rousing...

I listened to the programme. Great contribution Gary. Excellent. As for that knob Boyle and his self proclaimed poet of the rags. There's only one king and that's Colin. Plagiaristic muppet. Personally I do like "The Vikings" song. Started late '70's without any words. Where did that start? Was someone bored one Sunday afternoon watching the film on tv and decided to start if of at the next match? If so,well done young man.

I listened to the programme. Great contribution Gary. Excellent. As for that knob Boyle and his self proclaimed poet of the rags. There's only one king and that's Colin. Plagiaristic muppet. Personally I do like "The Vikings" song. Started late '70's without any words. Where did that start? Was someone bored one Sunday afternoon watching the film on tv and decided to start if of at the next match? If so,well done young man.

Click to expand...

I don't know exactly when/where it started but I can remember us belting it out at Carrow Road around 77 but as you say there were no words to it. No idea when 'best team' was added to it.

thanks for the comments. I was a fairly late edition to the programme. The producer contacted me after the Premier League World TV doc and asked if I could add a sound bite or two. It was a busy and difficult time (and of course there's no payment - the producer had tried to contact other City people before me) but we managed to meet up and I talked about all sorts of stuff but, inevitably, the show had to have a cross section of voices/clubs covered and, inevitably, the Norwich and Liverpool features had to be significant.

I think I was the last to be interviewed, certainly after all the big names and after Pete Boyle, and so there was no opportunity for the interviewer to challenge Pete etc. in my interview I heard that Pete had claimed he'd invented several Cantona chants - Eric the King and Number one was Cantona.... Etc. I pointed out that both of these were MCFC songs decades before Cantona arrived at Utd. I then produced the April 1994 article I wrote for the Kippax Last Stand (my first article in the MCFC match prog) and , fortunately, both Colin Bell songs were listed in there. That was 1994 - earlier than Boyle had claimed to invent them. The producer clearly dropped the Number One was... Stuff said by Boyle but left in the King song(which Utd did also sing for Law in early 70s!). I guess they needed to include that to show something Boyke claimed as his, which makes the originality comment that followed even more interesting.

There's a lot more to be said on chanting. I wrote a few pages in Farewell To Maine Rd on it but maybe it's time to do something more in depth?

thanks for the comments. I was a fairly late edition to the programme. The producer contacted me after the Premier League World TV doc and asked if I could add a sound bite or two. It was a busy and difficult time (and of course there's no payment - the producer had tried to contact other City people before me) but we managed to meet up and I talked about all sorts of stuff but, inevitably, the show had to have a cross section of voices/clubs covered and, inevitably, the Norwich and Liverpool features had to be significant.

I think I was the last to be interviewed, certainly after all the big names and after Pete Boyle, and so there was no opportunity for the interviewer to challenge Pete etc. in my interview I heard that Pete had claimed he'd invented several Cantona chants - Eric the King and Number one was Cantona.... Etc. I pointed out that both of these were MCFC songs decades before Cantona arrived at Utd. I then produced the April 1994 article I wrote for the Kippax Last Stand (my first article in the MCFC match prog) and , fortunately, both Colin Bell songs were listed in there. That was 1994 - earlier than Boyle had claimed to invent them. The producer clearly dropped the Number One was... Stuff said by Boyle but left in the King song(which Utd did also sing for Law in early 70s!). I guess they needed to include that to show something Boyke claimed as his, which makes the originality comment that followed even more interesting.

There's a lot more to be said on chanting. I wrote a few pages in Farewell To Maine Rd on it but maybe it's time to do something more in depth?

Click to expand...

Great stuff Gary. I liked the Norwich, Hammers and West Brom contributions too.

It was good that your match day piece was in 94, the year after Man U were re-formed.